Faculty

BHSEC Manhattan faculty members are experienced college professors with a special interest in working with younger students; some come to BHSEC from high schools in New York and others from colleges and universities. Approximately two-thirds of full-time faculty members hold a Ph.D. in their discipline, and all permanent, full-time faculty are certified by New York State. Some college electives are taught by adjunct faculty.The faculty to student ratio is 15:1, with an average class size between 20 and 22.

Current Faculty

Adrian AgredoLiterature FacultyB.A., Bennington College; M.A.T., Bennington College. Has designed and taught extracurricular programming in poetry for At-Risk students as a resident teaching artist in seven NYC public schools; Coordinated the Bard Early College Academy (2010-2016); Fellow of The Academy For Teachers. Teaching and academic interests include 20th century American poetry, gender in literature, semiotics and street art as cultural signifier.E-mail: aagredo@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212.995.8479 x5061

Tim CaseyArt FacultyB.F.A., M.F.A., Rhode Island School of Design. Painter; has had solo exhibitions at Pratt Gallery, Gabrielle Bryers Gallery, The Clocktower, and Tomoko Liguori Gallery, New York City, John Davis Gallery, Hudson, NY. Work included in group shows at Artists' Space, New York City; Margulies-Taplin Gallery, Miami; Lesley Heller Gallery, NYC, and Pierogi Gallery, Sideshow Gallery, and Momenta Gallery, Brooklyn. Work in collections of National Gallery of Art; Jewish Museum; and other public and private collections. Reviews in Arts Magazine, Art in America, and the New York Times. Has taught at Rhode Island School of Design, Tufts University, SUNY Purchase, New York University, Pratt Institute, and Middlebury College. E-mail: tcasey@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x2011

Kyung ChoLiterature FacultyB.A., Vassar College; M.F.A., University of Iowa. Has taught literature and creative writing at University of Iowa; Borough of Manhattan Community College; and School of Visual Arts.E-mail: kcho@bhsec.bard.edu Phone: 212-995-8479 x5061

Nathaniel CooperScience FacultyB.S., Physics Education; M.S., Physics; Ph.D., Astrophysics, Purdue University. Research Assistant for the MOJAVE collaboration, 2005-2010. Awarded the Charles C. Chappelle Fellowship. Taught astronomy, mechanics, electromagnetism and electronics at Purdue University, 2003-2008; member of American Astronomical Society and American Physical Society. Research focuses on blazar jet morphology and has published in The Astrophysical Journal (University of Chicago Press), 2007, 2010, 2011. Served in the US Navy as an Engineering Lab Technician (Nuclear), and in the Army National Guard as a Logistical Specialist.E-mail: ncooper@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x3010

Joseph Boateng Danquah Jr.Mathematics FacultyB.S., Mathematics, Buffalo State College; MS.Ed, Mathematics, Lehman College. Math for America (MFA) Master Teacher Fellowship Grant for Outstanding Teaching, 2012 – 2016; The New York Times Teachers Who Make a Difference Honoree, 2014. Taught mathematics at College of New Rochelle, Fordham University, Baruch College, and DeWitt Clinton High School before joining Bard High School Early College in 2014. Academic and research interest include Linear Algebra and Matrix Theory, and compatibility of instructors’ teaching styles and students’ learning styles.E-mail: jdanquah@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x3101

Anna DolanTheater FacultyM.F.A. in Playwriting, Yale University; M.F.A. in Directing, University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Anna is a playwright and has written and produced over 30 plays. She has recently written a series of recitation/adaptation of literature: Jim Thompson's "The Killer Inside Me," an adaptation of "Men in the Sun," for the Freedom Theater of Jenin and Kafka's "The Trial." E-mail:adolan@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x5061

Paul DucettLanguage FacultyB.A., Russian and Classics, Middlebury College; M.A., Teaching English as a Second Language, Hunter College; M.A., Spanish Language and Culture, Universidad de Salamanca; M.A. and Doctoral Candidate, Comparative Literature, City University of New York. Research interests include Pushkin, Don Juan myth and contemporary methods in foreign language teaching.E-mail: pducett@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x5081

Brittney EdmondsLiterature FacultyB.A., Cornell University; M.Phil., Princeton University; Doctoral Candidate Princeton University. Brittney has taught at Princeton University, Cornell University, and Mercer County Community College. Her research interests include African-American Literature and Culture, American Literature and Culture, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and Science Fiction. Her writing has appeared in MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States and African-American Culture: From Dashikis to Yoruba (forthcoming from Greenwood Press, 2017). E-mail: bedmonds@bhsec.bard.edu

Denice GamperScience FacultyB.S., St. Joseph's College; M.S., St. John's University. Instructor of science at Bishop Kearney High School, Brooklyn, 1980-2001. Awards include research fellowship for high school science teachers in medicinal chemistry, St. John's University; research fellowship for high school science teachers in neurobiology, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University.E-mail: dgamper@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x3081

Rachael E. GibsonHealth FacultyB.S., University of Arizona; MPH, California State University-Long Beach; MSEd, City College of New York; MEd and Doctoral Candidate, Widener University. Ms. Gibson has taught Sexuality Education all over the U.S. and the world, most recently in conjunction with the University of Cape Town in South Africa and Chongqing Technology University in China. Ms. Gibson’s foci are adolescent sexuality, social justice, women’s empowerment, and sex positive education for young men. Her research interests include the training of sexuality educators in the informal settlements of Cape Town, South Africa. Ms. Gibson holds a B.S. in Health Education from the University of Arizona, a Masters in Public Health from California State University, Long Beach and a Masters of Science in Educational Leadership from the City College of New York. She is a current MEd/PhD student in Widener University’s Human Sexuality Education program. Email: rgibson@bhsec.bard.edu​

Kara GoldsteinSpecial Education Faculty B.A., Tufts University; MSED, Hunter College. Undergraduate research includes international relations and political science with a focus in comparative European politics as well as Italian language and culture. Graduate focus in adolescent special education, literacy intervention, and behavior modification. E-mail: kgoldstein@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x 4062

Jonathan GoyaScience and Music FacultyB.S., B.Mus. University of Arizona; M.A., Princeton University; Doctoral Candidate, Princeton University. Research interests include protein degradation, applied statistics, and mass spectrometry. Also performs as a Baroque violin specialist and teaches at the Music Conservatory of Westchester.E-mail: jgoya@bhsec.bard.edu

Julia GuerraLanguage FacultyB.A., American University; M.A., University of Maryland, College Park. Has taught at University of Maryland, College Park; University of Phoenix, Columbia, Maryland; Maryland College of Art and Design. Teaching and research interests include Maya and Aztec culture, spirituality and religion among Hispanic populations, and ethnicity and race in colonial Latin America. E-mail: jguerra@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x5081

Arturo HaleScience FacultyB.Sc., Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana, Mexico City, Chemical Engineering; Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Chemical Engineering; M.A.,Teachers College, Columbia University, Science Education. Worked many years as a research scientist at Bell Laboratories and OFS Labs in the areas of polymers science, fiber optics, holographic data storage and microelectronics. Involved in science mentoring programs for high school and college students. Holds twenty-four U.S. patents; published three invited book chapters and over thirty scientific articles. Awards include R&D 100 Award for the development of Tapestry Holographic Recording Media. Courses taught include Thermal Analysis of Thermosetting Polymers, Physics with Calculus, Conceptual Physics, 9th-Grade Physics, High School Chemistry, Science of Light and Color, and Physics of Sound and Music.E-mail: ahale@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x3081

Elena HartoonianMathematics FacultyB.S., Applied Physics, California Institute of Technology (Caltech); M.A., mathematics, University of Colorado at Boulder. Has taught mathematics and served as the mathematics director of a multicultural academic program at University of Colorado. Research interests include Number Theory, Mathematics Education: teaching critical thinking skills through mathematics, inclusive curriculum and pedagogy. Phone: 212-995-8479 x3101

Glenn HealyMusic FacultyB.A., Duquesne University, Psychology; M.A., Graduate Faculty, New School for Social Research, Psychology. Faculty member of the Third Street Music School in New York since 2005, teaching percussion and world music. Extensive experience performing, recording, touring and teaching. Taught in three countries, performed in nine. Member of several Rio de Janeiro Samba Schools. Veteran of over twenty carnival performances in Rio de Janeiro with several samba schools. Founder and director of Ginga Pura samba group.E-mail: ghealy@bhsec.bard.edu Phone: 212-995-8479 x2044

William H. Hinrichs

Associate Dean of Studies

A.B., Princeton University; Ph.D., Yale University. Has taught at St. Mark's School, the Taft School, Yale University and BHSEC Queens. Publications include The Invention of the Sequel: Expanding Prose Fiction in Early Modern Spain (2011). Teaching and research interests include literature and culture of 16th- and 17th-century Spain, flash fiction, and concepts of authorship and authorial property.

Jesse Garcés KileyLiterature FacultyB.A. University of Wisconsin-Madison; M.F.A. in Poetry/Creative Writing from Columbia University. Has taught Creative Writing and Composition at Columbia University, and as a bilingual elementary teacher in various schools across the country. Poetry has appeared in Oranges and Sardines.E-mail: jkiley@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x5061

Rachel H. KennedyScience FacultyB.A. and B.S., University of Maine, English (poetry) and Biochemistry; Ph.D., Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering (a cooperative degree program for The Jackson Laboratory, MDI Biological Laboratory, and five other research institutions in ME), Biomedical Science (Immunotoxicology). Neuroscience Postdoctoral Scholar, Columbia University; Instructor in the Discipline of Psychology, Frontiers of Science, Center for the Core Curriculum, Columbia University. Research interests include brain mast cell function, endocrine disrupting chemicals and metal toxicology, and the role of sex differences in health and disease. In addition to scientific articles and a forthcoming textbook chapter, Dr. Kennedy is a published poet and essayist.E-mail: rkennedy@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x3081

Andrea Kouklanakis

Language Faculty

B.A., Classics and Honors Program, Hunter College of the City University of New York; Ph.D., Classical Philology, Harvard University

Research Interests: Homeric poetry, Comparative epic, Iambic poetry, Reception of the Classics in Afro-Latin American literature.

E-mail: akouklanakis@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x5081

Michael LernerPrincipalB.A., Columbia University; Ph.D., New York University. Has taught at Barnard College, NYU; New School University; and Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota. Awards include Best Dissertation in Urban History, Urban History Association. Publications include Dry Manhattan: Prohibition in New York City (2007). Teaching and research interests include 20th-century United States society and politics, American reform movements, popular culture, and U.S.-Pacific relations. E-mail: mlerner@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x2282

Pearl MarasiganDance FacultyB.A., Hofstra University, Dance. Teaching Artist at Third Street Music School, 2006-present; Teaching Artist at Notes in Motion Outreach Dance Theater, 2007-2009; work-study participant at Peridance International School of Dance, 2003-2009; scholarship student at Bates College Dance Festival, 2003; and Participant of Paul Taylor Intensive, 2002. Awarded Rehearsal Grant from Field Artist Residency Program for upcoming HalloHalloInc production. Has performed for Vissi Dance Theater; Forces of Nature; Beth Soll and Company; Amanda Selwyn Dance Theater; and Tamara Saari Dance Collective. Founding director of HalloHalloInc. Approach to teaching dance is inclusive and is a reflection of the fusion of modern dance, ballet, African and Filipino folk dance. E-mail: pmarasigan@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x2092

Bruce MatthewsSocial Studies FacultyB.A., University of Virginia; M.A.R in Philosophical Theology, Yale Divinity School, magna cum laude; Doctorate in Philosophy, New School University, summa cum laude, winner of Hans Jonas Prize for dissertation. Founding member of the Bard High School Early College Faculty. Has taught at Bard College as a Faculty Fellow, in Bard’s Clemente Program in New York City, through two Senior Fulbright Faculty Awards, has been Visiting Faculty at The University of Tübingen (2004-5) and The University of Freiburg (2011-12), and was Visiting Scholar in the Humanities Writ Large program at Duke University (2014-15). Field of research is German Idealism and Romanticism, focusing on the work of the philosopher F.W.J. Schelling (1775-1854). Recipient of numerous awards and grants, including two University of Chicago Teaching Awards, four AKC Research Awards and a $35,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Has lectured extensively in the United States and in Europe, as well as in Turkey and India. Recent invited presentations include “Existence as the Inverted Idea, or the Transcendence of Ecstatic Immanence,” (Humboldt University, 2014), "Envisioning the Modern University: Schelling's Vorlesungen über die Methode des akademischen Studiums" (University of Vienna, 2015); recent publications include “Schelling in the Anthropocene: A New Mythology of Nature,” (Symposium: Canadian Journal of Continental Philosophy, 2015), “Schelling: A Brief Biographical Sketch of the Odysseus of German Idealism,” in The Palgrave Handbook to German Idealism (2014), and “The New Mythology: Between Romanticism and Humanism,” in The Relevance of Romanticism (Oxford University Press, 2014), and “Rationality’s Demand of its Other: A Comparative Analysis of F.W.J. Schelling’s Unvordenklicheand Huineng‟s Wu-Nien,” (Comparativeand Continental Philosophy, 2012). Books include the forthcoming intellectual biography, Schelling: Heretic of Modernity (2016), Schelling’s Organic Form of Philosophy: Life as the Schema of Freedom (SUNY 2011), and F.W.J. Schelling’s Berlin Lectures: the Grounding of Positive Philosophy (SUNY Press 2007).E-mail: bmatthews@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-9479 x4082

Steven V. MazieSocial Studies FacultyPh.D., University of Michigan (Political Science); postgraduate work, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; A.B. (magna cum laude), Harvard College. Has taught at Bard College, 2005; New York University, 2002; and the University of Michigan, 1997-9. Honors include American Political Science Association Best Paper Award in Religion and Politics (2003); Charlotte C. Newcombe Fellowship (2000-2001); National Science Foundation research grant (2000); Raoul Wallenberg Scholarship (1993-94); and three awards for teaching excellence. Author of Israel's Higher Law: Religion and Liberal Democracy in the Jewish State (Rowman & Littlefield/Lexington Books, 2006). Recent articles published in Polity; Perspectives on Politic; Field Methods, Theory and Research in Education; and Review of Faith and International Affairs; as well as the New York Times. Areas of specialization include political theory; and public law.E-mail: smazie@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x4082

Thomas McVeigh Physical Education and Health Faculty B.S., Physical Education, SUNY Cortland; M.S.Ed., Students with Disabilities in Adolescent Education, The City College of New York; Physical Education and Special Education Teacher at Manhattan Academy for Arts and Language, 2010-2012. Phone: 212-995-8479 x2222 E-mail: tmcveigh@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x2222

Camilo MesaMathematics FacultyB.Sc. Mathematics, National University of Colombia at Medellin; Ph.D. Mathematics, University of Colorado at Boulder Mathematics instructor, University of Colorado at Boulder. Research interests include Noncommutative Geometry (Deformation quantization and index theory), stochastic processes, and modeling. E-mail: cmesa@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x3101

Kinga NovakLanguage and Social Studies FacultyB.A., University of Washington; M.A., New York University; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley. Lecturer in History at UC Berkeley and Cal State East Bay; Instructor in Spanish at NYU. Awards include a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Award (Mexico, 2008-2009) and a Fulbright-García Robles Student Grant (Mexico, 2000-2001). Manuscript-in-progress is entitled Of Gratitude and Sorrow: A Visual History of Everyday Mexican Spirituality. Teaching and research interests include Latin American history, religion, popular culture, and social movements.E-mail: knovak@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: (212) 995-8479 x4081

Michael NoyesMathematics FacultyB.A., New York University; Ph.D., University of Colorado at Boulder. Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Waterloo, 2011-2012. Research interests include Combinatorics and Probability. E-mail: mnoyes@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x3101

Zoe Powers (Noyes)Foreign Language Faculty, Registrar & Data Manager A.A., Bard High School Early College; B.A. Bard College; M.A. Johns Hopkins University and Nanjing University. Has taught at Bard High School Early College Newark. Teaching and research interests include Chinese language instruction, Chinese history and literature, international relations, and urban education.E-mail: zpowers@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x4075

Katherine A. RandallWriting Center CoordinatorB.A., Barnard College; M.S., Columbia University School of Journalism. Has worked as editor and writer (full-time and freelance) at various publications.E-mail: krandall@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x4052

Ashley RockenbachSocial Studies FacultyB.A., University of California, Riverside; Ph.D. Candidate, University of Michigan. Pre-Doctoral Fellow at the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies at the University of Virginia, 2015-2017. Teaching and research interests include 20th-century African History, refugee studies, and the history of humanitarianism and human rights.

Gabriel RosenbergMathematics FacultyB.A., Rice University; Ph.D., Columbia University. Served as NSF/Gibbs Instructor at Yale University. Has given invited talks at Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Brown; Rutgers; and Harvard; as well as the Albany Group Theory Conference. Research has focused on the subject of group actions on trees. E-mail: grosenberg@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x4131

Ben RubensteinMathematics FacultyB.A., Mathematics, Bard College; M.A.T., Mathematics, Bard College. Math Teacher at Bard High School Early College, 2006-present; Director of the Math Learning Center at Bard High School Early College, 2005-2006. Awarded Master Teacher Grant from Math for America for outstanding teaching. Research interests include combinatorial game theory, and Voronoi Tessellations.E-mail: brubenstein@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x3101

Verónica VallejoSocial Studies Faculty B.A., University of Scranton; M.A. Georgetown University; Doctoral Candidate, Georgetown University. Instructor at Georgetown University, 2007-2010. Research interests include the history of Latin America, New Spain in the eighteenth century and the social history of medicine. Member of the American Historical Association, Latin American Studies Association and the Canadian Association of Latin American and Caribbean Studies. E-mail: vvallejo@bhsec.bard.eduPhone: 212-995-8479 x4081

Matthew ZimbelmannArts FacultyB.A., Anthropology, Binghamton University and Universidad de Sevilla; B.A. Music, City College of New York; M.A. Composition of Music, The Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College. Has songs in the network TV series Friday Night Lights and Hart of Dixie,the feature film The Watch, the documentary film Beyond Laughter and Tears, among others. Songwriting and production credits on The Old Nationals (2005) and The Concentrics’ Before All This (2015). Composed a series of chamber works, View from the Bluff (2001-2009). Performance credit on the Sony Pictures Classics feature Manny and Lo score written by John Lurie, conducted by Steven Bernstein. Studied with David Del Tredici, Hubert Howe, David Tronzo, David Fuiczynski, Captain Rich, and Black Diamond. Interests include nature, history, highbrow/lowbrow, strange sounds, and the pursuit of the perfect song.E-mail: mzimbelmann@bhsec.bard.edu

Michael ZitoloScience FacultyB.A., New York University; M.A., Teachers College of Columbia University. Physics Teacher at School of the Future, 2007-2017. Math for America Master Science Teacher Fellow, 2013-Present. Worked in a few of different labs during summers on topics related to astrophysics and mechatronics. Teaching and personal research interests include Physical Computing, Mechatronics, Astrophysics, and Cosmology.E-mail: